Democrats and Republicans may have reached agreement on a spending deal but ‘unsustainable’ levels of debt continue to be a cause for concern With another funding deadline looming, the Democrats and Republicans have reached a $1.66trn deal on US spending. This averts another potentially disruptive shut-down. Nevertheless, the level of US government debt remains a…
For some time, it has been clear the baton of economic growth would pass from China, but it was not always clear who would carry it forward While interest rates and inflation have been the driving forces for markets in 2023, in the longer term, the shift in the geopolitical landscape may prove more significant.…
European venture capital firm Sofinnova has launched Biovelocita, an investment strategy dedicated to the creation and acceleration of biotech startups in Europe. The firm said it had a created a new team for Biovelocita and the new venture was inspired by Italy’s first biotech accelerator, BiovelocITA, co-founded by Gabriella Camboni, Silvano Spinelli and Sofinnova Partners…
Inflation concerns have abated across Europe, Natixis Investment Managers has suggested, with the problem now greatest across Africa and the Middle East. The group’s 2024 Institutional Outlook Survey found institutional investors still harboured significant concerns heading into the new year, with three-fifths (59%) of respondents predicting equity markets would see higher volatility and two-fifths (39%)…
There are solid arguments supporting a harder landing scenario than markets are currently anticipating In the most recent investor survey from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, 75% of those polled see a soft landing or no landing as the most plausible outcome for the US economy. This is a 10% increase on the previous month…
“Anaemic” growth has left Europe more vulnerable to recession risk than other major economies, according to BNP Paribas. In the group’s 2024 investment outlook, Stepping into a New Reality, Daniel Morris, chief market strategist for the London office, wrote: “Europe is the region where pessimistic forecasts were largely realised – and where pessimism is potentially…
Following a lacklustre set of Q3 results, are the ‘Magnificent Seven’ and others finally losing their sheen? The recent round of technology results has revealed a growing gap between expectation and reality. Although most of the ‘Magnificent Seven’ squeaked ahead of analyst forecasts, few could deliver on the lofty hopes built into share prices, on…
The European Commission (EC) has revised down its GDP growth predictions for the bloc, acknowledging the high cost of living, weak external demand and monetary tightening. In its Autumn 2023 Economic Outlook, the EC expected economic activity would gradually recover but that GDP growth would be 0.6% in both the EU and the European area.…
Exchange-traded fund (ETF) assets in Europe reached €1.4tn by the end of last year, according to the new edition of EFAMA’s ‘Markets Insights’ series. This, the European Fund and Asset Management Association noted, represented the lion’s share of the growth in exchange-traded products (ETPs) over the last half-decade. The report, UCITs ETFS: A Growing Market…
First Sentier Investors has received all regulatory approvals to form a strategic partnership with boutique European alternative credit manager AlbaCore Capital Group, the asset manager announced. Mark Steinberg, CEO of First Sentier Investors, said that the completion of the group’s majority investment into a strategic partnership with AlbaCore would diversify the range of investment capabilities…
Robeco has launched an equities strategy with the intent to invest in, and engage with, companies across the fashion value chain, writes Michael Nelson. The Fashion Engagement Equities Strategy will invest in 30 to 40 publicly listed companies across the entire fashion value chain, including sourcing, production, consumption and end-of-life. The firm will particularly be…
The pace of US consumer spending looks set to slow down over the medium-to-long term, writes Cherry Reynard The US economy turned in an astonishing performance for the third quarter, growing at an annualised rate of 4.9% between July and September. Financial markets aren’t sure whether to be happy or alarmed at the pace of…
